Welcome to the Creating Motion Graphics blog on ProVideo Coalition! We’re very happy to be here, and look forward to using this new forum to share with our fellow motion graphics artists tips and trends that we think might be useful or intriguing. We will also be posting an archive of many of our past articles and columns which contain a wealth of advice and techniques. And on occasion, we will be posting our musings on the state of the industry (such as in the rest of this entry, past the “more” jump).
We find it interesting to see how information is shared in the community. A pivotal moment for us occurred in the mid-90s while attending a Cutting Edge Salon meeting at the American Film Institute’s now-defunct Advanced Technology Program, formed when new technologies such as QuickTime were just becoming available. Scott Billups gave a talk on how he had created visual effects for a major studio motion picture on a desktop computer, and had output the results to film. We went home that evening, pulled the latest issue of an industry magazine out of our mailbox, and read an article about how this very process was theoretically possible - but wasn’t actually going to happen for another two or three years.
That’s when we realized how fortunate we were to live in one of the major media markets and to be surrounded by fellow artists that were willing to share, rather than rely on magazines that may not be as well connected to what was happening on the ground. It was one of the primary inspirations that led us to help start up Motion Graphics Los Angeles (MGLA), a “user group” of fellow artists learning just what we could do with these desktop video and film tools.
Fast-forward well over a decade: We’ve recently completed our 125th (and final) monthly meeting of MGLA. Although more than 100 fellow artists regularly attended our events, they just haven’t been as full as they were several years ago. Meanwhile, industry magazines have been getting thinner and thinner.
What’s going on? For one, the market has cooled down from the overheated days when desktop video was new and its users were in the process of taking over from established, more expensive studios. But another part of the equation is obviously the Internet: No matter where you live or what day of the month it is, you can get the latest information by performing a Google search or scanning your favorite forums. Why wait for the next monthly meeting, or a magazine that was written a few months ago?
A problem with the Internet, however, is that you seldom have a way of judging the quality of the information you’re receiving. There’s lots of advice and free tutorials out there - but not all of them show the best or even correct way to get from Point A to Point B. That’s why we’re so excited to be part of ProVideo Coalition: It’s a place where some of the best minds in the industry are being assembled to share their hard-earned, real-world advice directly with their fellow users. We look forward to having a vibrant community of users (that’s you) to add comments and share their own wisdom with their fellow users.
Not that you should stop reading magazines or hanging out with your peers! But we hope this place becomes one of your preferred “watering holes” on the Internet. We’re happy to be here.
Business • Motion Graphics • Post Production • Production •
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